Heroes

This man did great things.Â He was a great husband, great father, a simple man who went to the same diner every morning and ordered an English Muffin with grape jelly everytime.Â He set the standard for family comic strips and for making cartoon characters that become part of our families.Â He is an inspiration and - now they are collecting EVERY single Peanuts comic in the Complete Peanuts.Â Check them out now!

Many of you know Waterson’s creation “Calvin and Hobbes” but what many of you people don’t know is what an amazing person Bill Waterson is.Â Waterson fought many times to keep Calvin and Hobbes from becoming a franchised character that you see on T-Shirts and coffee mugs.Â He believed it cheapened the integrity of his creations when you took them out of thier original intended meduim.Â He fought hard to keep his art just that, Art.Â I share in many of Waterson’s beliefs and I also believe these are some of the reasons that Calvin and his furry mate are remembered and revered today.

Before I told you about a great storyteller named Bill HarleyÂ and his influence on me, but when I became a storyteller I kept hearing one name.Â Jay O’Callahan. A master storyteller, and you know it the very first time you hear him. A really sweet and humble guy that I have met a few times and even had the pleasure of working with him this past December at the festival of trees in Plymouth. If you want to check out his stuff, do so - here- and get sucked into the world of Jay O’Callahan. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget. Â

When I was in the fifth grade Bill Harley came to our school to tell us some stories.Â I didn’t know it then but I met the man that would help change my future.Â It wasn’t so much the show that he put on for the school - that was great - but it was afterwards that sticks in my mind more.Â After the show he came to Mrs. Wieler’s classroom because we had done a version of his song Fifty Ways to Fool Your Mother.Â I can’t remember the version we sang (sorry -Â but it was over 20 years ago) butÂ I can remember being soÂ excited that he came to our class to hear a song that we made up.Â Years later, when I became a storyteller myself I decided to be the kind of storyteller that Bill Harley is.Â The kind of storyteller that doesn’t try to distract you with funny clothes or sight gags - but instead impresses you with the stories that he tells.Â Â Letting theÂ storiesÂ be what matters.Â

Check out Bill Harley’s stuff if you get a chance - it is amazing!Â My personal favorites are Monsters in the Bathroom and There’s a Pea on my Plate.